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Cant wait to see some of these teams stuck with luxury tax problems down the road. Just read a article that the Heat might have to break up the big 3 if the owner doesn't want to pay luxury tax in 2-3 seasons. But owner still wants to win. Also look at the Nets. They traded for bad contract in JJ then resigned Wallace. Then over paid Humphries and Lopez. Then re upped Deron. That's a ton of money.

They could easily lose Marshon when he due for a payday when he's restricted free agent. Besides they been tossing his name around part of the old Howard trade rumors. Even though that ship sailed for now. Probably wont hear any more Howard to Nets til trade deadline if Lakers don't get him first.

I think the bucks need a little more on this team we need to make move still like trade some of those bigs and if was the gm I would sign hassan whiteside.and go after nate robinson asap nate bring swag and energy off the bench and whiteside can be a force on the d year down the line and are future center.

if carlos is on the roster we have 14 players if not 13 wonder who rides the pine as the 13th man i think we need doron on the active roster bc we'd only have ellis jennings udrih n dunleavy but as far as the 4&5 position we've got sammy d sanders udoh henson gooden and ilyasova so im guessing it will be one of the bigs but who?

there has to be some kind of trade or move hammond has in mind, unless we keep them all until the deadline to move of them with ellis or jennings if we dont reach extensions with them....

I would really like to see harris get the nod at the 3 with mike d backing him up, along with the lamb getting good mins at the back-up 2 spot! Really want to see which of the young 3 bigs can step up considering we will have to resign sanders and udoh in the next few seasons

I think the bucks need a little more on this team we need to make move still like trade some of those bigs and if was the gm I would sign hassan whiteside.and go after nate robinson asap nate bring swag and energy off the bench and whiteside can be a force on the d year down the line and are future center.

wouldnt mind nate if we could drop beno not sure of nates contract albeit he is undersized like our other g's n we dont need that, i dont want whiteside we already have 3 young bigs who ARE a force already and can become our future starters

The Joel Przybilla era might not be over in Portland. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, the Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, and the Milwaukee Bucks are the three teams that have shown the highest level of interest in signing the free agent center.

Przybilla will meet with Bucks management this week, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.

With Joel Freeland and Meyers Leonard on the Trail Blazers roster, Przybilla would be used solely as a big-man mentor if he decides to sign back with the organization.

The 7-1 Przybilla signed with the Trail Blazers last March after turning down offers to play for the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat. He said the reason he chose Portland was because his family felt comfortable there.

Przybilla is a 12-year vet and has a career average of 4.0 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. Przybilla is also fourth on the Trail Blazers all-time blocks list.

The NBA summer league schedule is officially in the books, with all 30 teams having competed in either Orlando or Las Vegas, and each year the league’s executives find it to be more and more useful as a way to evaluate the best young talent in the NBA. Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond loves seeing all of the teams, but also sees the benefit of having many of the executives in one place for the purpose of discussing possible transactions.

“The league in general, I think it’s a great league and Warren (LeGarie) and the NBA have done a great job over the years of just making it bigger and better,” Hammond tells HOOPSWORLD. “That’s the greatest thing to me about the league. There’s so many of us here and you can get a lot of work done, a lot of business does take place while we’re here and from a scouting standpoint, a chance to see so many young players coming into the league or first- or second-year players still playing, so I look at it as a great scouting venue. Someone like myself, I don’t go out and get a chance to watch a lot of summer leagues, so to have everyone here, I really appreciate that.”

Coming into the offseason, the Bucks had glaring needs in the front court. By acquiring Samuel Dalembert from Houston and drafting John Henson, Hammond believes they have taken significant steps in the right direction.

“First and foremost, we had to get some size. After trading Andrew Bogut, our team changed for the better offensively, but you can’t replace what Bogut does on the defensive end of the floor so we struggled there. We were scoring a lot of points but we couldn’t get a stop, we couldn’t get the need rebounds so at the draft we made a trade and went from 12 to 14 and were able to pick up Sam Dalembert from the Rockets and we think that Samuel can help us with those two factors. He can help us protect the basket and help us in those need rebound times. In the draft we were able to draft John Henson from Carolina, and with his length and being the two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year and, I think, a guy that’s going to have a bright future in this league. Then we picked up Doron Lamb from Kentucky, so at this point that’s what we’ve done and I think we’ve made ourselves better.”

Henson is an interesting player, to be sure, but there are questions about whether or not he can become a great NBA power forward. Hammond admits he doesn’t know for sure that Henson will be great, but does believe that his character makes him a pretty good bet.

“Sometimes you go through the draft and there’s always going to be a question and I know that with John, there’s not a question about the character of the man,” Hammond explains. “He’s an outstanding person and I think when you start with that basis, that you have a great person and I know the work ethic is there and I just think that someday he can be a high-caliber shot blocker, a high-caliber rebounder in this league. He has a great feel for the game offensively and as he just improves his shooting stroke. I don’t want to say the sky’s the limit but I think he’ll have a very bright future.”

Of course, the University of North Carolina pedigree doesn’t hurt, either.

“That’s a big factor,” admits Hammond. “You look at that program and what they’ve done and the players that they’ve produced there and as I said, you talk about a guy like that, two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, that’s pretty good basketball they play in the ACC and that’s a good pedigree.”

The Bucks have addressed their front court needs to a certain extent, but there are still questions surrounding their lineup. A Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings backcourt looks an awful lot like the Warriors’ duo of Jennings and Steph Curry, and Hammond says the key to a different outcome for Milwaukee is the strength of their front court defense and rebounding.

“We’ll see how it goes. Once again, we finished a season without a center. Drew Gooden did a great job for us, playing that position for us and did all that he could do, but Drew will tell you he’s a power forward in this league, not a center. He can play some backup center but with that being said, after the trade we still finished 17 and 13 with those guys, with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis playing together, and that’s without much help up front defensively and rebounding-wise. Let us get better defensively, let us get better rebounding the ball, put that backcourt of Brandon and Monta together and I like it. I think we can be very good with it.”

The Bucks have already accomplished a great deal in free agency, but Hammond admits he may still have some moves to make.

“I don’t know; we’re all in the same boat,” says Hammond. “We’re always looking to try and improve our team, so if there’s one more thing to do, or two more things to do, we’ll do that.”

Milwaukee’s summer league team had a good showing in Las Vegas, with Tobias Harris having an MVP-worthy showing, John Henson getting better with each passing game and Doron Lamb having his moments, as well. Whether or not they climb into the East’s playoff picture this season, they are clearly a couple of significant pieces closer to doing so.